Sunday, June 1, 2008

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Braves called the Athletics about Joe Blanton and were shut down. The A's asking price is way higher than the Braves imagined, and it should come as no surprise if you look at it from an A's perspective. They are playing good baseball and it might get even better if Carlos Gonzalez continues to play well. Not to mention the return of third baseman Eric Chavez. The A's do not have to move payroll at the moment, and they are not that far out of first to call it a lost season. At least till the trade deadline, the A's can sell high and hope a desperate team like the Braves will come in and offer a boatload of prospects for one.

Other teams that are expected to be in on Blanton or Harden include the Rockies, who seem most interested to make a big move, the Tigers, Reds, Yankees, and Dodgers.

Shut down by the A's? I don't thinks so. I think they inquired, and weren't stupid enough to give up what Beane wanted for an average pitcher, who is 3-7 with a 4.37 ERA. The Braves pitching staff, despite their woes, leads the NL right now. So perhaps the Braves aren't as desperate as you are reporting, and I can guarentee you are NOT going to give up the farm for an average pithcer. Wren already said as much. So if you think the Braves are going to make some "desperate" moves, I think you are mistaken. It would be nice to get an innings eater like Blanton, but not enough to give up our future. I heard they were asking for one of Johnson/ Escobar, Blanco, Shafer and Hanson. That is absolutely ridiculous if true. The Twins didn't even get an offer coming close to that for SANTANA, so the Braves would be beyond stupid for even entertaining such a thought. I think, more than likely, Wren Shut down BEANE for not being moronic enough to do that.

Trading Kelly Johnson isn't a good idea for the Braves. He is a very underrated 2B and the Braves have offensive problems believe it or not. We can't trade Acosta either because of injury prone Smoltz, Gonzalez, and Soriano. Zach Greinke might be a better player to go after.